Watershed Management Practice and Livelihood of Smallholder Farmers: The Case of Hidabu Abote Woreda of North Shoa Zone in Oromia Region, Ethiopia
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Date
2021-08
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
Natural resources have been degrading due to intensive agricultural activities in many
developing countries. To rehabilitate the degraded natural resources watershed management
practices has became the key approach to minimize loss of such resources. In Ethiopia the
government was tried to implement soil and water conservation (SWC) measures through
community campaign. The study examined the impacts of watershed management practices on
smallholder farmers’ livelihood in Hidabu Abote Woreda, North Shewa, Oromia regional State,
Ethiopia. The study employed a mixture of qualitative and quantitative methods. Data was
generated through household (HH) survey, key informant interviews, focuses group discussion
and observation. The quantitative data were generated from 266 household, where the sample
sized detrained by standard method. Additionally, tables, graphs, narrative method, Pearson chisquare was used to examine the association between the activities of WSM and livelihood of
smallholder farmers. The analysis shows that, physical and, biological SWC measures and
agronomic practices were the most commonly implemented activities to conserve natural
resources thereby increase land productivities and improved smallholder farmer’s livelihood. As
the part of Watershed Management practices the forest/trees conservation, livestock feed and
grazing land management and water sources conservation undertaken by different ways.The
pearson Chi-square statistical analysis revealed that all these activities have considerable role
in increasing particularly crop yields. Different factors constrained the WSM practice that
include lack of training and low quality of trainings given either for extension or farmers, lack of
appropriate technology, open grazing, deforestation, limited maintenance of SWC structures,
inadequate extension services, insufficient (small) farmland holding, shortage of cash income to
cover agricultural input costs, poor (backward) agricultural practices, fearing reduction of
farmland size due to land closure for conservation. The study also verified that WSM have great
role in creating job opportunity in order to enhance income and livelihood of smallholder
farmers. Irrigation, cattle fattening, beekeeping, forest and tree seedling production in developed
watershed and significant change viewed on socioeconomic, environment and on attitude of
farmers after WSM practice implemented.The policy makers and actors emphasize on the solving
the limitation through providing technical or action oriented training and awareness creation
through considering indegineus knowledge, allocation of extension service and provide
materials (tools) used SWC are the key reccomondation finded
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Keywords
Watershed Management, Livelihood, Soil and Water conservation, smallholder farmers